Last year, Stephen Messer’s debut novel Windblowne  hit the bulls-eye as a perfect book for boys, balancing a unique style of adventure (who’d ever thought of traveling between worlds on a kite?) with a multi-layered theme of finding yourself — a concept to which we all can relate.

So how does an author top that? When do we get to see what next creative tale Messer  weaves for us? I’m excited to announce that his latest work, The Death of Yorik Mortwell, is about to be released!

And talk about a great premise: The Death of Yorik Mortwell delivers a mock-Gothic tale about poor Yorik (alas!), son of gamekeeper at an old manor, who meets an untimely demise at the beginning of the book… and thus takes the reader on a special haunting story from the ghost’s perspective. If reading about how a ghost can save the living isn’t enough, you should also keep in mind that this is an illustrated novel, well seeded with Gorey-esque illustrations penned by Gris Grimly. What boy, girl, or adult wouldn’t want to delve into this new world?

Available September 27, visit your local bookstore or library and be sure to check it out. Or visit Stephen Messer’s web site for details on his other books.

For other recent releases of boy-oriented MG books, see my New Books for Boys link in the left column of this blog.

I blogged about Michael Grant’s new The Magnificent Twelve series in an earlier article. Grant’s approach to the middle grade hero is so fresh and unusual that I couldn’t stop myself from giggling as I read the first book. Now, I’m excited to help spread the word that book 2 in this same series will be released on August 23.

For those of you who haven’t read the first book, hurry up and grab a copy right now. Then you’ll be all set for book 2, The Trap. In this story, our reluctant, wise-cracking, and phobia-ridden hero must find the ancient ones before the Pale Queen’s three-thousand-year banishment ends — and that’s in 35 days. Mack must get help from his spectral mentor, Grimluk and continue to assemble the twelve. No small feat while the Pale Queen is about to destroy the world.

Available August 23, visit your local bookstore or library and be sure to check it out. Or visit Michael Grant’s web site for details on this book, related online games, and summaries of his other books.

For other recent releases of boy-oriented MG books, see my New Books for Boys link in the left column of this blog.

Mrs. Kathy Yocum, educator extraordinaire

Kathy Yocum: Inspiring Students for Over 30 Years

Imagine a high school classroom in which every student sits at rapt attention, eagerly following the teacher’s cadence as she reads aloud a soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Afterwards, all eyes are glued to the room’s television to watch Hamlet pursue his doom. No texting, no fidgeting; these kids are transfixed.

Then, just when the play is reaching a climactic scene, the teacher pauses the video. “All right,” she says over the din of complaints to turn the play back on, “did you catch that? What’s going on there?” And thus begins a whole new animated discussion of Shakespeare’s layers of meaning.

If that doesn’t sound to you like your typical American high school English course, you’d be correct. It isn’t. The ability to engage teenagers with the English language in general and Shakespeare in particular is no small feat. Sure, you can introduce kids to Shakespeare. You might force some poor sod to stand up in the front of class and read from Romeo and Juliet (much to his chagrin and the derision of his peers). And at the end of it all, what have the students learned? Not much, I’d hazard.

That’s not teaching. Only when you have the entire class hanging on the edge of their seats to see what happens next in the play, or when students argue over the complexity of Shylock’s character from The Merchant of Venice and the subtle message it made concerning the position of Jews in Elizabethan society, would you come close to the type of experience I had.

The credit for such an education falls squarely in the lap of one person: Kathy Yocum, English teacher at Marist High School in Eugene, Oregon. For over 30 years, Mrs. Yocum has been challenging kids to dive into the English language in a way they likely have never experienced: to go beyond basic syntax and see how novels, plays, and poems can expose us to new ways of thinking.

This lady is passionate. She opens a book and words come alive. In her class, characters breathe, love, lose, and betray. We cross from the mundane to the fantastic; we peel away the obvious to explore the subtle. Under her tutelage, we find our voices where before we had nothing to say.

And yet, all good things must come to an end. I recently learned that Mrs. Yocum is retiring this year. A selfish part of me wondered how she could do such a thing — how can Marist continue without her? The obvious answer is that the school will remain, but it will never be the same.

As I sat digesting the news of Mrs. Yocum’s retirement, I reminisced about the year I spent in her class so long ago and why it is still prominent in my mind. So this article is both about you and for you, Kathy. Whenever you look back on your time at Marist, be assured you made a difference:

• You made a difference. If today — almost 30 years after graduating from Marist — I can still quote Hamlet (“Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew…”), you can be certain you had a lasting impact. Thanks to you, Shakespeare has entered my bloodstream and won’t leave. The tradition continues as I brought my wife to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. We’ve had several family gatherings that centered around the festival to boot.
• You made a difference. Your reading of John Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn helped instill in me the allure of artifacts and the stories they might tell. “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter.” This idea later developed into a core concept in my first novel.
• You made a difference. The ultimate lesson you imparted to your students was critical thought. You encouraged us to dig deeper, to think creatively, to question what is presented as fact. I applied the same techniques you taught for picking apart a sonnet or considering layers of meaning in a passage to my studying the Greek classics in college, and even to my current day job writing technical documents.
• You made a difference. You brought a love of learning to your students that stands the test of time. While you may not be teaching at Marist this coming fall, your students have ventured forth, continuing to explore and relish the world that you opened to us.

So here’s to you, Mrs. Yocum. Thank you for your years of service, for your dedication, energy, and passion you brought to your classroom every day. You have enriched the lives of thousands of kids — many of whom have since grown up and are introducing a new generation to the fire that burns inside good stories. I can’t think of a finer legacy than that.

We all love you and wish you the best.

(One final note of sympathy for Mrs. Yocum’s successor: to whoever will be assigned to teach in Mrs. Yocum’s old room, you have some mighty big shoes to fill. Good luck; you’re going to need it, as this video clearly illustrates.)

At long last, book 6 of Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap series is upon us! For those of you who enjoy a good amount of humor mixed in with a fast-paced fantasy, you can’t go wrong with this series.

In The Darke, the latest book in the series, Septimus Heap must enter the Darke to save the Castle and the Wizard Tower from destruction. With the help of familiar characters (including Simon, Septimus’ estranged brother), Septimus and Marcia Overstrand battle the spreading Darkenesse. Will Septimus succeed in protecting his “magykal” world? Read The Darke to find out.

Scheduled for release on June 7th, visit your local bookstore or library to grab a copy, and visit Angie Sage’s web site for details on her other books.

For other recent releases of boy-oriented MG books, see my New Books for Boys link in the left column of this blog.

image courtesy killthebird - flickr

Getting in Touch with Your Characters

Time to put on your creative writing caps, folks: tell me, how do you breathe life into your story’s characters?

As I admitted in a previous post, I traditionally fall into the plot-oriented writing camp. When I sit down to write, thoughts of action and conflict arise. Cityscapes emerge. My fictitious world is populated out of necessity as I bring characters into being in order to fill the demands of the plot line.

But not this time. In an attempt to flex my creative muscles, I’m taking a new approach to my latest project and putting character development first.

Here’s where you creative, character-driven writers come in: what techniques do you use to create interesting, complicated, chip-on-the-shoulder, major fault-ridden people who grab your audience’s attention and won’t let go?

Sure, I’ve seen the basic character fact sheets. But physical attributes (“What’s your character’s eye color?” “How old is s/he?”) and the somewhat formulaic questions (“What’s his/her greatest fear?” “What’s their greatest accomplishment to date?”) only get me so far; there’s no juice. Creativity loses out to boredom. Soon, another piece of failed character sketch becomes a projectile screaming towards the trash bin.

I need inspiration, my brothers-and-sisters-in-writing! How do you flesh out your characters? Got any creative exercises you use to bring your two-dimensional creature into full view? What tips or tricks work for you when you really want to sink your teeth into character development?

What fun! Logan Turner featured me as one of her male book blogger friends in her The Man Behind the (Blog) Mask interview series.

What’s that, you say? Recognizing that male bloggers and authors are a relative scarcity, Logan has been interviewing that rare beast known as the male author/blogger during the month of May as part of The All Male Review Challenge.

So follow this link to read my interview, but don’t forget to look over the other guys’ interviews, too. It’s interesting to see the commonalities we share, but even more interesting to see the different views we have on the same questions we were asked.

A big thanks to Logan for including me! Don’t forget to sign up to follow her blog posts!

With the recent migration of The Lightning Thief – the first in the Percy Jackson series of books — to the big screen, Rick Riordan has become a household name recognized by adults and kids alike. But we middle grade reading fans know better: Riordan is well on his way into his next series, The Kane Chronicles.

The Kane Chronicles began with The Red Pyramid, wherein we were introduced to a pair of co-protagonists, the brother and sister team of Carter and Sadie Kane. Riordan perfectly balances the tension between the siblings, making this series a strong attractor to both boys and girls alike — it’s for anyone who enjoys high tension and an action-based plot. (Egyptology doesn’t hurt, either.)

The just-released Throne of Fire is book 2 of the Kane Chronicles. Here, Riordan continues the relentless pace and keeps the wise-cracking Carter and Sadie jousting with each other almost as much as with the dark gods of Ancient Egypt. The storyline is great — who wouldn’t want to read about becoming a magician, uncovering lost gods, and saving the world? But above all, it’s the voices Riordan puts into these works that make them such good reads.

Released on May 3rd, the Throne of Fire is available now at your local bookstore or library. Be sure to check it out, and visit Rick Riordan’s web site for details on his other books.

For other recent releases of boy-oriented MG books, see my New Books for Boys link in the left column of this blog.

The month of May is made all the more lovely by the imminent release of The Warlock by bestselling author Michael Scott.  This story is the fifth in Scott’s Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. Although advertized as Young Adult (YA), advanced middle grade readers will also enjoy the fast-paced writing and can relate well to the main characters.

In this newest book, Sophie is on her own with the ever-weakening Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. She must depend on Niten to help her find an immortal to teach her Earth Magic. As with the first four books in this series, Scott offers a world full of magic and Celtic-inspired folklore — and brings us even closer to what could be an ominous end.

Available May 24th, visit your local bookstore or library and be sure to check it out, or visit Michael Scott’s web site for details on his other books.

For other recent releases of boy-oriented MG books, see my New Books for Boys link in the left column of this blog.

image courtesy quinn anya - flickr

What’s Your Interpretation?

I ran across an interesting blog post yesterday by Arthur Phillips, guest blogger at Powell’s Books. In his article entitled “In Defense of Irrelevance,” Mr. Phillips argues that the question what is the lesson of this story? is inane and should be ignored.

Now, there’s a lot more to the article that that one statement. Why don’t you go read his article first and then come back here so we can be on the same page, so to speak. Go ahead, I can wait…

Back? Great. So now you see his point in its entirety: the essence of a story is the story; one shouldn’t attempt to gain too much insight into the underlying motivations of the author.

I wanted to expand upon an aspect of his article: that of the differences of opinion between the author and the reader. Or in more general terms, the differences between the artist and the audience. Consider this from the perspective of another art form: painting. Example: what exactly were Da Vinci’s intentions when he painted the Mona Lisa? What’s the message or lesson his work is striving to tell us? If we’re asking what the artist thought, we really don’t have a clue. Moreover, I find that question to have little relevance anyway. That’s okay; I’m not one to spend a lot of time pondering how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, either. For me, far more interesting is to ask, what does this painting say to you; to me?

Art isn’t effective in a vacuum; without it impacting the audience, it’s just ink on canvas (or paper). Only when the material (the painting or story) generates an emotional response in us does it become art. Of course, we also must recognize that different people react to the same artwork differently. “Art is in the eye of the beholder,” if I may rehash the cliche.

Cliche it may be, but it brings me back to my main point, which is if:

(i) Art is the emotional response provoked in the audience by a painting or story, and

(ii) Different people react differently to each work,

then one person’s impression of the work is as valid as anyone else’s — artist included. Meaning, it’s a level playing level out there, folks. Don’t be afraid to express your own opinion because your interpretation has just as much weight as the rest of us.

Back to books. I wholly support Phillips’ suggestion to leave the question of the author’s motivations behind and focus on the story. It’s far more interesting to ask, What is the character saying that you agree with? Disagree with? Now that’s a conversation worth having.

Up until recently, I’ve only experienced art from the receiving end. But I got my first taste of seeing my work through others’ eyes when a reviewer of my manuscript had an insightful comment about a scene I wrote. In this scene, he described how my character had this set of underlying motivations which were hinted at very well without being too overt.

Interestingly, I had no such motivation when I wrote that passage. Does that mean the reviewer was wrong? Of course not! His interpretation is as valid as mine. I remember sitting back after reading that review and thinking how cool it is to create a new world using rules, assumptions, and motivations of my own, and see how readers discover layers in my work I didn’t even know existed.

So unless your novel in question is a work that’s so allegorical that the underlying message might sneak up and whack you with a frying pan, my recommendation for readers and writers alike is to enjoy the creative experience as just that: an experience. And if during this process you discern layers upon layers of meaning, more power to you. But don’t expect everyone else to see things the same way; the beauty with good stories is that they are gems with an unlimited number of facets.

image courtesy Damian Gadal - flickr

Looking at the Big Picture

What’s going on with the publishing industry these days? The Internet is rife with debate over the rise of the eBook and the consequent death knell of the printed word. We’ve seen some high-profile shifts of successful authors like Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler moving away from their publishing houses (and even re-evaluating their agent relationships) and going solo via eBook and print-on-demand through places like Amazon.com.

So the picture that’s being painted on the wall is one where physical books, agents, and publishing houses are an anachronism, right? It seems not to be a question of if, but when these parts of the publishing industry will go the way of the dinosaurs.

Not so fast.

In an interesting twist, Amanda Hocking who started her writing career selling over a million self-published eBooks has just landed a multi-million dollar, four-book deal with a traditional publishing house. And she has an agent. Say what?

Objective: Know What You Want and What You Need

For me, this “news” is mostly noise. It’s nothing more than entertainment. My plan still hasn’t changed from when I started down this path towards publication.  I want my creative writing to ultimately become my full-time occupation. I see that goal in the distance and I know where I’m standing right now; what I need help with is the in-between.

That’s where finding the right literary agent comes in to play. Keep in mind that not everyone has the same set of goals or operates the same way, so don’t take this as a hard rule or even a recommendation. But when I look at my skill sets, it’s readily apparent that establishing a long-term relationship with the right agent is a good thing indeed.

Why? Because:

• The right agent will help me grow creatively.
  • As a relative newbie to the creative writing field, I know that I don’t know what I don’t know. (Yea, I think I said that correctly.) At the very start, getting an agent is validation that my writing is at a level that has potential marketability. That’s huge.
  • I want a skilled agent who has a good substantive editorial eye and can give me suggestions to further polish my manuscript to enhance its chances of being bought by a publisher.
  • I also want an agent with whom I can discuss new ideas and get their guidance on how I can grow as a writer.
• The right agent will help me professionally.
  • I want an agent who has a good feel for my stories and knows which editors to approach with my latest work. Sure, I can access Publisher’s Marketplace and spent a few days tracking which editor picked up what book, but that’s not the most efficient use of my time. Not to mention the challenge that an unagented writer has getting the attention of editors at many publishers. Which leads me to…
  • An agent can help run the business. I’ve been a technical writer for 15 years, and in the last 7 of those years I’ve worked as a consultant. What’s great about my situation is that I can focus on my core competency: writing technical materials. Other team members manage the projects, deal with billing, help escalate issues with the client, and so on. This relationship is the perfect parallel for how I want to operate as an author of fiction: let me focus on producing the material, and my agent can focus on keeping the business gears turning.
  • And last but not least, let’s return to the point I first raised in this article: keeping abreast of all the changes that we see happening in the publishing industry and understanding how they impact me, either as a hindrance or an opportunity. Although I don’t perceive any immediate change to my current situation, I can readily foresee a time when my agent needs to talk to me about digital rights negotiations. And when that point comes, I’ll be much happier knowing that I have a savvy partner on my side and I don’t have to muddle through the legal weeds on my own.

It’s for these reasons that I don’t see literary agents going away any time soon. Digital or paper doesn’t matter — there’s a lot of work to be done before a story crosses the production finish line. Getting a partner who can provide a helping hand in my creative writing business is key. That’s my view; your mileage may vary. To me, the near-term and ultimate benefits of having a literary agent are what keep my agent search a priority.

Now, if only I could bend the ear of the right agent… ;-b